In his first press conference the Minnesota United head coach, Adrian Heath, referred to his team as the “Newcastle of MLS,” as well as expressing his desire to find players who specifically wanted to play for the Loons. Now that he’s been in the job for a few months, Heath is able to see how that may play to his side’s benefit as they approach their first ever game in MLS, a meeting with the 2015 champions, Portland Timbers, on Friday night.

“They’re some of those places that are out of the way,” Heath says about both Newcastle and Minnesota. “It isn’t exactly trendy compared to everywhere else. It’s got those harsh-weathered conditions at certain times. The other thing that stuck out is that people from [Minnesota] are really proud of it, a bit like the north-east of England. If we can be remotely as important to the people of [Minnesota] as Newcastle United is to theirs, we’ll be a great addition to MLS.”

While Minnesota may not want to imitate Newcastle’s decades of underachievement, like the Toon Army they already have a an army of fiercely loyal fans. The oldest faction of these supporters is called the Dark Clouds. Formed in 2004 (and named in homage to United’s predecessor, the Thunder), the group has followed the team like storm-chasers on their journey from the second-tier North American Soccer League to MLS. One such fan, Adam Jarvi, used to travel three hours from the Iron Range of northern Minnesota to watch his local club. Some 18 years later, he’ll finally see an MLS side in his home state.

“I always thought it made sense,” Jarvi says of Minnesota’s MLS viability, “when you look at the size of the Twin Cities and the diverse population. I think the moment it really hit me was when Minnesota United started drawing 9,000 people in Blaine [a suburb without any public transportation options from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul]. That still kind of blows my mind. Nine thousand people showed up to watch second-division soccer in Blaine.”

“It wasn’t that long ago and you’d go to a soccer event in the Twin Cities and it’d be the same 20 to 40 people. Now, you go to events like the jersey unveiling, where I knew ten of the estimated thousand.”

One Minnesota native on the roster, center back Brent Kallman, has grown up alongside the sport’s rise in popularity in his home state. To see a thousand fans show up on a February evening to get a first look at Kallman and his team-mates wearing the Loons’ new kit, was a notable moment in resolving the sport’s checked history in Minnesota.

“You see how many kids are playing,” Kallman explains, having coached during the offseason each of the past few years. “It seems like every kid grows up playing soccer now. Youth soccer is a lot bigger. On a professional level, once the new ownership group came in [in 2012], they put more resources into it. More and more people are aware that there’s professional soccer in Minnesota than there ever were in the past.”

In November, Heath was chosen to to lead Minnesota in their initial season at the top-flight of American soccer. The former Everton midfielder was released by Orlando City in the middle of the 2016 MLS campaign, and is eager for another crack at the league.

“I think we’ve put together a completely different type of roster than the one down in Orlando,” Heath reflects. “We didn’t have the money to spend £5.6m ($7m) a year on Kaká’s wages. If you look at it, we had five regular players under the age of 21 in Orlando. This side is a bit more experienced. They’re all coming into their prime, at 23 or 25. We made a conscious effort to bring people like that into the club. It doesn’t surprise me that we’ve gelled so quickly because I see a really hungry group.”

While the center-back pairing of Vadim Demidov and Francisco Calvo showcases two motivated MLS newcomers, their backgrounds are in stark contrast. Demidov is a veteran of European club football, having played for Rosenborg, Real Sociedad, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Celta Vigo. After recently captaining SK Brann in a successful promotion battle, Demidov was ready for a new challenge. A couple of friends helped steer him toward MLS.

“I watched the league grow over the last couple of years,” Demidov says. “I have a couple of friends who’ve played here. I talked to Ola Kamara, who plays with Columbus. My good friend Rob Friend played with the Galaxy as well, and we played together in Germany.”

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At 30, Demidov comes to the league at the top of his game. Calvo, however, is a 24-year-old up-and-coming Costa Rica international. At 5ft 11in, he is small for a center-half but has used his pace to score nine goals in 24 matches with Saprissa. While he is ready to prove himself in a bigger league, his decision came down to a personal touch from the manager.

A month into his tenure, Heath traveled to Costa Rica to meet with Calvo. The two talked strategy, as well as life on the pitch and off. For a defender approaching his prime, Minnesota checked all of the boxes. “I really liked the project and Minnesota is going to be a good club,” Calvo says of his new club. “[Heath] is a really good coach. He was a player, so he knows how we [as players] live our lives. We’re going to play really well with him.”

Both players come to Minnesota having turned down lucrative offers from across the globe. Demidov was approached by clubs in England, Spain and Serbia. Calvo, meanwhile, was the subject of a bidding war between Los Angeles Galaxy and fellow expansion side Atlanta United, and also fielded interest from Serie A. Now, the pair find themselves at the heart of the Minnesota defense.

“They’re a little different, aren’t they?” Heath says. “You look at Vadim – he’s had a great career, played in a lot of big clubs in big leagues. Francisco is somebody that I loved when I was in Orlando. He’s somebody who, wherever he plays on the backline, always stood out to me. Really good defender, makes smarts decisions. Together, not just on the park but off, these two have become very good friends.”

With a brand established and players secured, all that’s left for Minnesota United to do is kick off their season against Portland. While fellow newcomers Atlanta United may have gotten more press for their flashy signings, Minnesota are confident in the club they have built. For Heath, the barometer for success is clear. “The holy grail for everybody is the playoffs, isn’t it? I just want us to be competitive. In the first Orlando year, we had moments of football that were incredible. Conversely, we had some of the worst performances I’ve ever been involved in. I want us to be competitive in every single game we play. I think this group can be.”

Before Heath arrived (and, in fact, while the club only had two players signed), Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl wrote in a column that he’d heard from numerous figures around MLS that the Loons could be the worst team in the history of the league. The quote was instant locker-room material.

“We know people like Wahl’s opinion of us,” Heath says. “They think we’ll be the worst team in MLS history. Well guess what? I don’t think so. We have something to prove every time we step onto the field this year, and I’ve already spoken to the players about that. We’ve got to represent Minnesota as best as we can every single time we put the shirt on. That’s going to be the mantra from March until the very last game of the season.”